Right choice up to Brandon Meriweather

Threshold of change

Credit: Matthew West

ON THE EDGE: Safety Brandon Meriweather, fined $50,000 this week for his hit on Todd Heap last Sunday, bobbles the ball during practice yesterday in Foxboro.

FOXBORO - There are two doors staring at Brandon Meriweather. They stand a few feet in front of the Patriots safety, both equally tempting. The one he walks through will determine a lot about his future.

On the left is the door that opens to the same path he’s been running down. It’s the door that led him to a benching early in the season because of his habit of freelancing in the secondary. It also led to a $50,000 fine for two flagrant helmet-to-helmet hits during Sunday’s game against Baltimore.

Why is it tempting? Because it’s cool. It’s bad boy. It’s the door that makes you think you’ve already arrived, and are good enough to ignore the system and do your own thing. It’s the one that won’t lead to change.

The door on the right?

This one offers a new path and decidely different direction. It’s the door former Patriots safety Rodney Harrison pleaded with him to take Tuesday during a heart-to-heart conversation. It’s the one that opens to Meriweather seeing how he needs to alter his thinking when it comes to hitting players.

Why is it tempting? Because it’s safe. It’s respected. It may save him from permanently being labelled a dirty player, just as Harrison was and now dearly wants Meriweather to avoid. It’s the one that might eventually lead him back to the Pro Bowl.

Prior to learning just how angry the NFL was at his launch to the head of Baltimore Ravens tight end Todd Heap, and before Harrison gave him an earful, Meriweather sounded like he was perfectly happy to take the door on the left.

On Monday, during his regularly scheduled appearance on WEEI, Meriweather was asked about the possibility of altering his style of play given what happened. He said that while he was sorry about what happened to Heap, there would be no change.

“I’m going to be aggressive. Point blank,” Meriweather said on the radio. “I won’t change my game. Period.”

Yesterday, Meriweather’s tune sounded more like the door to the right would be the choice. He spoke briefly with reporters, offering a statement about what had transpired over the course of the previous 36 hours. He didn’t read from a prepared text. He just delivered the words as they came to him, feelings he no doubt wanted to express.

“Once again, I’m going to say I’m sorry for the hit. I understand the league is trying to protect the health of all our players,” Meriweather said. “To be honest, I just want all this to go away. I want to focus, with the rest of my team, on the Chargers and really not let this come up again. I’m going to try my best to play within the rules, like my coach had always taught us. I’m going to hit and play the game like my coaches have always taught us. Even in training camp, we have always been taught the proper way to hit. Just focus on that and try to put it in my game in some way, shape or fashion.

“From here on, I’m focusing on the Chargers. Anything else spoken about this, I will not comment on.”

Meriweather was both somber and contrite. He seemed genuine in his remarks, although it’s really tough to know how this will play out. The best gauge will be on the football field.

Harrison, however, seemed convinced Meriweather got the message. During an appearance on Sirius NFL radio yesterday, the NBC analyst gave the impression Meriweather would definitely change his ways. Why?

“Because Brandon Meriweather is not a dirty player,” Harrison said during the radio appearance. “He’s a guy that plays hard and I told him, specifically, I said, ‘Brandon, I’m calling you today because I don’t want you to make the same mistake that I made, hitting guys and being known as a dirty player, and having that reputation.’ . . . So I told him, I said, ‘Listen Brandon, take this (fine), take your medicine, come back, and play.’ ”